Tamil magazine Tamil Osai held a two-day conference on the Tamil literary and philosophical work Thirukkural. The conference was on 26 and 27 April at the Durgai Amman temple cultural hall. Scholars from India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka gave lectures on various topics.
The Thirukkural is one of the most important works in Tamil and it is also one of the Tamil books of law. This work, a collection of 1330 couplets organised in 133 chapters, was composed by the poet Thiruvalluvar. Each chapter has a specific subject ranging from ploughing the land to ruling a country. The basic teachings of the work are held to be simplicity and truth. The work is easily accessible to modern-day Tamil speakers. The Thirukkural has been translated to more than 60 languages. It is held that Gandhi took up ahimsa and satyagraha after he read Thirukkural.
Maraimalai Ilakkuvanar, renowned professor of Tamil who was a visiting professor at the University of California Berkeley and now a guest lecturer at SIM University, Singapore, gave lectures on the topic “Thirukkural as an encyclopedia”.
Rev Father Amudhan Adigal delivered a lecture on Thaninayagam Adigal, the father of international Tamil conferences and founder of International Association of Tamil research.
Professor Murugavel Sivachandran from Dharmapuram Adhinam gave a lecture on the topic “How to live as per the norms of the noblemen”.
Prof R. Chidambaram, an educationist from Malaysia, spoke on the topic “The Family life portrayed in Thirukkural”.
Thamizharuvi Sivakumaran, a Tamil scholar from Vavunia, Sri Lanka, delivered a lecture on the topic “the way of life as shown by Thirukkural”.
Maathalai Somu, Editor of Tamil Osai and organiser of the conference, welcomed the gathering and explained the aims and plans of the committee.
A dance performance was given by Nixon Sarma and Chidambaram R. Suresh. A lamp dance was also performed by students of Dr.Yasodha Barathi Singarayar.
Vasantha Raja delivered the vote of thanks.
The conference was also attended by other writers, poets, journalists and people from all walks of life.
Published in The Indian Sun/ For more information on Tamils in Sydney, Australia read The Indian Sun
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